Community champions to deliver meals and friendly visits to older adults
Across the United States, 1 in 4 older adults lives alone and feels lonely. Meals on Wheels is a vital program that delivers more than a daily, hot meal plus a wellness check and friendly visit.
Local elected officials are teaming up with AgeSpan staff to deliver meals and a smile during Community Champions Week March 20-24 as part of the national March for Meals campaign during Nutrition Month.
“It’s a way to spread awareness about the Meals on Wheel program, and it’s a great way for these elected officials to connect with their constituents,” says AgeSpan CEO Joan Hatem-Roy. “Over the years, we’ve had many officials serve as Community Champions as part of March for Meals.”
Each March, Meals on Wheels celebrates the historic day in 1972 when a national nutrition program for seniors (which became Meals on Wheels) was added to the Older Americans Act.
This year’s celebration comes at a time when eight out of ten local Meals on Wheels programs are still delivering meals to more older adults than they were prior to the pandemic, and operational and food costs are still soaring even while inflation slows.
In 2022, AgeSpan provided 789,000 home-delivered meals to 5,206 individuals all thanks to our more than 250 volunteers.
AgeSpan, formerly known as Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore, is a private, nonprofit agency dedicated to helping people in northeast Massachusetts maintain the highest level of independence, health, and safety as they age. AgeSpan is a Massachusetts Aging Services Access Point and an Area Agency on Aging. For more information about AgeSpan and its services, visit www.AgeSpan.org or call 800-892-0890.
